5 Sources of Free High-Definition Stock Video

Stock footage: You can use it in your projects, video backgrounds, or even in the header to welcome people to your website – among other uses. The problem? Video production isn’t cheap and buying stock film can take a big chunk out of your wallet. If you run a small website, that’s unacceptable.

Thankfully, there are many sources online where you can download stock videos for free – a lifesaver if you have a tight budget or only need a quick clip. We’ve compiled a few websites that offer free videos for your next web design project. These may not always have the polished, cinematic feel you can get if you purchase professional footage, but there’s plenty of high-quality for you, and even some 4K footage files here as well.

Videvo is a website dedicated to providing free, HD clips for use in your projects. Videos are uploaded both by the website owners and the community, and it’s quite a diverse collection. You’re able to sort by footage or motion graphics, or even grab some music and sound effects while you’re here. You can also see a file’s detailed information, such as format and aspect ratio, before you download.

A majority of videos are licensed under “royalty free”, a non-credit license that allows you to use and modify the video in your projects. There are two other attribution-based licenses as well. Remember to check the licenses before you download.

Stock Footage For Free – exactly what it says on the tin. All you need to do is create an account and you have access to some of the most impressive free footage on the web. These clips are all evenly formatted at full HD, 29.97 FPS, in the .mov file format. They’re also available for commercial use in many cases. You’ll have a hard time finding more stunning clips for free online.

Though a freemium website, Videezy hosts a solid collection of free-for-use footage, helpfully sorted by categories such as “After Effects” and “Nature”. There’s even a section for aerial and drone footage!

The only catch: Standard (free) videos are only available for personal use and require attribution to Videezy.com. To use these files commercially or gain access to Pro-only footage, you’ll need to buy a license, credits or a premium account. On the flip side, there is 4K footage available to standard users as well. If you have a noncommercial project, your options are many.

Free stock film, licensed under CC0 and able to be used for any kind of project – even commercial. What more could you want? Pexels was started as a free stock photo website, but it’s expanded to include short community-contributed video clips.

Many videos are focused on nature and cityscapes, but you can find just as many with streets and people as the subject. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, try using the search or tagging features. And remember that you can hover over thumbnails to see a preview.

Pixabay is another stock image website that dabbles in free videos, but what differentiates it from its competitors is the fair selection of 4K files – few and far between on stock film sites. While there’s only a few hundred HD and 4K videos, the subjects are variable – ranging from landscape footage to the abstract. It’s a small but diverse selection.

All images on Pixabay are submitted by users and licensed under CC0, so they can be used for just about anything.

Free High-Quality Cinematic Footage

Whatever you may need footage for, these websites are here to provide you with beautiful video content – many free to reuse and repurpose as you need them. Just make sure to check the licensing first. From there, you can start downloading the variety of free and beautiful videos that the internet has to offer.